Endosialin (CD248) Cancer Role and Therapeutics: 33 years on

Since its discovery more than 30 years ago, our understanding of the function of CD248 (also known as endosialin or TEM1) as a therapeutic target has evolved, and CD248 is now recognized as a potentially valuable target for therapeutics directed toward sarcomas and fibrotic diseases. The current study reviews the literature related to CD248 and examines CD248 expression across various models including patient-derived xenografts, patient-derived cell lines (pdmr.cancer.gov/), and large cell line collections, including the Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) and the GDSC-MGH-Sanger. CD248 is highly and selectively expressed by sarcomas and by pericytes in tumor vasculature and wound-healing vasculature. It is a component of a multi-protein complex which connects various cell types into tissue structure. Multiple therapeutic approaches are being investigated to take advantage of CD248 in the treatment of sarcomas and fibrotic diseases. Endosialin/CD248/TEM1 is a promising biological target that remains poorly explored in cancer therapy. Importantly, CD248 is overexpressed in several human solid tumors and absent in most normal adult tissues, making it a suitable and potentially safe target for radioimmunotherapy, particularly in Ewing’s sarcoma xenograft models.